ROSS SOLLY, HOST: Prime Minister, thank you so much for joining our live broadcast. You're with Ross Solly and lovely to have you with us tonight. What a night. And some incredible recipients tonight. You must be very, very proud of those Australians.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: An absolutely extraordinary, inspirational evening. All of the nominees were extraordinary, of course, but the winners all gave quite incredible speeches that everyone who was here tonight will remember, but everyone who was watching or listening at home will remember as well. And they were such worthy recipients. A real diversity as well.
SOLLY: Amazing. I mean, when I went through the list today, I thought, gee, I would not want the job of having to pick out who wins these categories because you couldn't, you could not get a struck match between any of them.
PRIME MINISTER: I am very glad that I have no role in the choice.
SOLLY: Picking a Cabinet is much easier.
PRIME MINISTER: Much easier. I think it would be a very difficult task and indeed, I only find out when I get the envelope on the stage. So, it's always interesting when you hear the nominees and what they've achieved and what they've done and their stories, their personal stories. It's often the case that you hear the first person, you go, ‘well, they should win.’ Then you hear the next person, ‘well, they might win.’ And when you go through, you realise that every single one of them would be a worthy recipient. But the four people who've won. Neale Daniher is an extraordinary Australian.
SOLLY: You're not from an AFL background, Prime Minister. I am. I grew up watching Neale Daniher.
PRIME MINISTER: Maybe you're a Melbournian -
SOLLY: West Australian, but I put that aside.
PRIME MINISTER: You do know that the current premiers are the Brisbane Lions.
SOLLY: Indeed.
PRIME MINISTER: And they did play the Sydney Swans. So, you know, there's a bit to be said for Rugby League states knowing a bit about AFL, and I went to my first grand final in 1989. I love AFL. I think Neale Daniher was, a great player, great coach, a great human being as well, quite clearly, and is much loved. Played for a long time when the Dees weren't terribly successful.
SOLLY: Closer to the bottom than they were to the top of the ladder weren’t they?
PRIME MINISTER: It’s got to be said. But, he was extraordinary.
SOLLY: Has he put it on you yet to take part in the Big Freeze? That looks like a lot of fun, Prime Minister, you might enjoy.
PRIME MINISTER: Does look like a lot of fun. And Neale is such an extraordinary inspiration. His speech was incredible. To talk about being diagnosed, I think, in 2014. More than a decade ago. And I've known people who have MND. Jodie recently hosted an event at Kirribilli House in Sydney to raise funds for research at Wollongong University. And we had Adam Gilchrist there. And it's a terrible disease, as Neale spoke about in his speech. But he is an inspiration, the way that he has been determined to turn what is an extraordinarily difficult situation into helping others is amazing and a very worthy recipient, as all of the winners are.
SOLLY: There are some people there who I think are going to have a big year in front of them and a lot to do. It is, of course, the Australia Day long weekend. Prime Minister, where do you see us now as a nation? Because if you believe what we hear and what we see, we're more of a divided nation than we have been for a long, long time. Do you buy that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what I want to see is a united nation.
SOLLY: Are we more divided now than we have been for a long time, do you think?
PRIME MINISTER: I think there are some developments in society, including social media, that seek to define us by what our differences are rather than have respectful debate. I want to avoid people yelling at each other and be able to be courteous in the way that we discuss differences and working through issues as well. We're a diverse country, but we're a great country. I don't want to see the intense internal divisions that we see in some countries overseas. And I think overwhelmingly that's what Australians want as well. They do have conflict fatigue. They want people to be able to have discussions, but do it in a respectful way.
SOLLY: If you talk to Jewish Australians at the moment, though, they'll tell us, many of them will tell us that they're feeling ostracised in our country. Many Indigenous Australians feel they were left behind because of what happened in the Voice. I mean, this is a very difficult time for a lot of Australians. And as the Prime Minister, I think they look to you to try and bring people together. Do you feel like you're doing that?
PRIME MINISTER: My objective each and every day is to do just that, to reach out and to recognise that we are a diverse country where people though, who need to promote respect of people regardless of gender, race, religion, and to make sure that we recognise that that diversity of Australia, modern Australia, with the three strands, if you like. The 60,000 years of the oldest continuous culture on Earth and followed by Europeans arrival here on the 26th of January, when Phillip arrived to establish a colony, and then particularly multicultural Australia since World War II, but before then as well. And that is a strength. I think we can be, not just more united than the rest of the world, but a bit of a microcosm that shows the rest of the world that people of different faiths, different. Different backgrounds, different ethnicities can live side by side and be strengthened. That our harmony is something that is so important.
SOLLY: I know your time is short, so I need to let you go, but I have to ask you. You hosted a function today at The Lodge and there's a picture circulating on the media now of Grace Tame standing, Grace, somebody who's never frightened to speak out and to let people know what she thinks. And she's wearing a very provocative T-shirt regarding Rupert Murdoch. I asked her earlier tonight if you had anything to say and she said she thought you might have felt a bit uncomfortable. What did you think of that?
PRIME MINISTER: Look I'm focused on the Australian of the Year, the Senior Australian of the Year, the Young Australian of the year, Dr. Katrina Wruck. Brother Pickett, amazing what he's doing for wheelchairs around, I think it was 81 countries have received it and the. The CALD women's advocates here who run a local cafes here in Canberra and provide jobs and training and skills for people of refugee backgrounds. I want to concentrate on the positive, is what I'm focusing on.
SOLLY: But they're also encouraged to use that platform. That's what Grace Tame did today. Do you think that was appropriate?
PRIME MINISTER: Well I don't think that today's focus should be on anything other than the Australians of the Year. And that was what the purpose of the morning tea that we hosted on today was. They invited former Australians of the Year who were there as well. My focus was on the positive and doing it in a way which was not, it wasn't a political event, it was an event to celebrate the achievement of all the nominees.
SOLLY: It has been a wonderful night. The night is but young by the sounds of the band outside. Prime Minister, I'm not sure if you're going to go out and strut your stuff on the deck.
PRIME MINISTER: I came in and the very appropriate, Dreams by Fleetwood Mac was being sung, which is an appropriate song here because this fulfils dreams.
SOLLY: Yes, it does. And what a year it's going to be.
PRIME MINISTER: And Australia should always be optimistic and dream about a better future. And that's what my focus is on this Australia Day. And I just say to everyone out there, happy Australia Day. And enjoy tomorrow.
SOLLY: Prime Minister, thank you so much for popping in and having a chat with us. Thank you.